Last July, Italian Energy Giant, Enel Group, launched their Innovation Hub at SOSA in Tel Aviv. Headed by Eran Levy, Enel Innovation Hub offers select mature startups an up-to-six-month commercialization program, support and funding throughout the phases of Proof of Concept, integration and launch as well as global distribution within Enel’s channels.

The company recently jumpstarted the program at the Enel Cyber Security Hackathon, a startup competition designed to drive innovative ideas in diverse fields of interest. Israeli startup Aperio Systems emerged as winner, thanks to their groundbreaking recognition technology of counterfeit data which provides non-intrusive protection via operative and detection alarms, and were named the first company to participate in the Innovation Hub. Following the win, Eran Levy expressed optimism about the collaboration, stating that, “We are looking forward to working closely with Aperio to further develop their product in line with Enel’s broader objectives.”

For Yevgeni Nogin, CEO of Aperio Systems, the win marks an important milestone for the company and an opportunity to adapt their technology to meet the demands of the energy industry. “Aperio Systems provides the last line of defense against cyber-attacks [on] critical infrastructure control systems. Enel is looking for the most forward thinking technologies within the space and, since it is Europe’s largest energy provider, we are truly honored that it recognizes the innovation behind Aperio Systems’ unique Data Forgery Protection technology,” Nogin says.

“All critical infrastructure systems are immensely complex and the vast number of end points and subsystems in SCADA systems creates a huge attack surface for cyber attackers. As the first startup chosen to participate in Enel’s Innovation Hub, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of Enel’s particular needs and provide our engineers with an opportunity to customize our technology to the specific needs of the energy sector.”

Enel Innovation Hub is continuing to screen for mature Israeli startups in fields such as cyber security, industrial IOT, Big Data & analytics, and smart home, and recently began accepting submissions from outstanding AgriTech companies to apply to the program.